Santa Barbara’s baseball team is one of the best in the Channel League, with a 3-1 league record and being third in Channel. However, it hasn’t come without its ups and downs. Coach Steven Schuck spoke about planning for Channel League play. He stated that the season is going as expected and if you looked at their record “you might think we’re having a bad year”. They’ve played there of the top twenty-five teams in the state. He said he expects to get the Channel League wins; that’s what everything is geared for.

The teams they are playing are very competitive like San Marcos. With the coaching and the players like Cal Wipf who committed to Pepperdine University which is a D1 school, Channel League wins could very well happen. The Dons season is also starting off very strong and they are making a name for themselves. With the victories they’re getting, for instance, Santa Barbara vs Ventura they won 5-3. The only game they lost was against Rio Mesa the second time. The first time Santa Barbara won 5-0. They’re currently 3-1 in the League and just beat Rio Mesa 5-0. Rio Mesa isn’t an easy team to beat and they’ve beaten them without letting them score once. Just another reason our baseball team is so feared.

During the 2022-’23 season, the Dons and Royals would regularly clash. Image shows #5 Zane Lee Paulick trying to get a Royals runner out. [Image Credit: James Sanchez]